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Primary Documents - Proclamation of the Young Turks, 1908

Reproduced below is the
proclamation issued by the Young Turks in 1908 with their coming to power in
Turkey.

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With the coming of war in
Europe in August 1914 the Young Turk administration proved far more
receptive to German friendship than to approaches from the Allies, and
eventually ended a stance of neutrality at the end of August 1914 by
declaring an
alliance with Germany (secretly agreed as early as 2 August 1914).

Proclamation for the
Ottoman Empire

1. The basis for the
Constitution will be respect for the predominance of the national will.
One of the consequences of this principle will be to require without delay
the responsibility of the minister before the Chamber, and, consequently, to
consider the minister as having resigned, when he does not have a majority
of the votes of the Chamber.

2. Provided that the number
of senators does not exceed one-third the number of deputies, the Senate
will be named as follows: one-third by the Sultan and two-thirds by the
nation, and the term of senators will be of limited duration.

3. It will be demanded that
all Ottoman subjects having completed their twentieth year, regardless of
whether they possess property or fortune, shall have the right to vote.
Those who have lost their civil rights will naturally be deprived of this
right.

4. It will be demanded that
the right freely to constitute political groups be inserted in a precise
fashion in the constitutional charter, in order that article 1 of the
Constitution of 1293 A.H. [=Anno Hegira] be respected.

7. The Turkish tongue will
remain the official state language. Official correspondence and
discussion will take place in Turkish.

9. Every citizen will enjoy
complete liberty and equality, regardless of nationality or religion, and be
submitted to the same obligations. All Ottomans, being equal before
the law as regards rights and duties relative to the State, are eligible for
government posts, according to their individual capacity and their
education. Non-Muslims will be equally liable to the military law.

10. The free exercise of
the religious privileges which have been accorded to different nationalities
will remain intact.

11. The reorganization and
distribution of the State forces, on land as well as on sea, will be
undertaken in accordance with the political and geographical situation of
the country, taking into account the integrity of the other European powers.

14. Provided that the
property rights of landholders are not infringed upon (for such rights must
be respected and must remain intact, according to law), it will be proposed
that peasants be permitted to acquire land, and they will be accorded means
to borrow money at a moderate rate.

16. Education will be free.
Every Ottoman citizen, within the limits of the prescriptions of the
Constitution, may operate a private school in accordance with the special
laws.

17. All schools will
operate under the surveillance of the state. In order to obtain for
Ottoman citizens an education of a homogenous and uniform character, the
officials schools will be open, their instruction will be free, and all
nationalities will be admitted. Instruction in Turkish will be
obligatory in public schools. In official schools, public instruction
will be free. Secondary and higher education will be given in the
public and official schools indicated above; it will use the Turkish tongue.
Schools of commerce, agriculture, and industry will be opened with the goal
of developing the resources of the country.

18. Steps shall also be
taken for the formation of roads and railways and canals to increase the
facilities of communication and increase the sources of the wealth of the
country. Everything that can impede commerce or agriculture shall be
abolished.